


The Weight of Victory

by chaosLydia



Category: Star Wars: Resistance (Cartoon), resistance - Fandom
Genre: Collaboration, Gen, Please check out Jun's amazing artwork at the bottom of the post!, Post TROS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26169118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaosLydia/pseuds/chaosLydia
Summary: After the Battle of Exegol, Kaz and Poe discuss someone important they've lost.
Relationships: Kazuda Xiono & Leia Organa, Poe Dameron & Kazuda Xiono, Poe Dameron & Leia Organa
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17
Collections: Remembering Star Wars Resistance 2020





	The Weight of Victory

**Author's Note:**

> Done in collaboration with @Junchan_nyan on Twitter so please check out her artwork at the bottom!  
> Written for Remembering Resistance Day 2020

Poe surveyed the growing celebration as it spread out into the jungles of Ajan Kloss. The Resistance base was filled with laughter, tears, and everything in between. As music played, food and drink appeared and was passed around between friends and strangers. Smaller ships parked wherever they could while bigger freighters lingered in space, filling the sky alongside the stars. Fires and ship lights blazed through the darkness of the falling evening. Fireworks exploded overhead. For a brief moment, Poe wondered if this was what it was like for his parents when they defeated the Empire at Endor. Tonight was a night to remember. 

The Emperor was dead. For good this time. 

Rey made sure of it.

Or at least Poe hoped she did.

Pushing through the crowd searching for Rey and Finn, Poe paused seeing the cave where Leia had left them. He couldn’t quite believe that the great General, Princess, Warrior, Hutt-Slayer, and mother figure to him was truly gone. She should have been here with them. Her voice should have been the loudest laugh here. Her jokes with Lando should have been one of the main events of the evening. Instead, she gave her last breath to save her son from the Dark Side. That’s what Rey told him anyway. That pissed off Poe more than anything else. Kylo Ren, Poe’s own torturer, got redeemed only to die a few hours later. Leia gave up her life for that?

What a waste, Poe had thought.

To his surprise, someone was standing just inside of the cave. They were moving closer to the bed where Leia had passed. A wave of anger rose in Poe’s throat. No one should be there! Her final resting place shouldn’t be disturbed tonight! It would have to all be packed away when they left the Resistance base, but not tonight!

Poe pushed his way over and snagged the person’s shoulder, “Hey!”

Then, he recognized the green coat and the young face with tears on his cheeks. It was Kaz staring back at him, his eyes wide in shock at the assault. The kid looked exhausted, but they were all tired from the day. He and others from the Colossus had made the journey to Exegol to help stop the First Order.

“Hey,” Poe spoke softer. “What are you doing here? You should be partying with Tam, Torra, and the others.”

Kaz sniffled and wiped at his nose, “I know. I just… I had to see her last place. I wanted to pay my respects.”

What little bit of Poe’s anger that was left faded away. That… was understandable. Already, a few flowers, firebird and Rebellion symbols, and other trinkets had appeared around Leia’s bed. It was then that Poe realized how much he was avoiding this place. Even now in their victory, he wasn’t ready to accept Leia’s absence. 

Something was off about Kaz. Or maybe this was normal? Poe really didn’t know. He didn’t get to spend as much time shaping the kid in the last year as he had hoped. They had to suddenly rebuild the Resistance while Kaz and his crew kept the Colossus together. The two fighters never had much of a chance to meet back up. War changed people. Loss changed people. Kaz, who was lucky enough to grow up in a time of peace, must have taken a few emotional hits along the way. 

“I…” Kaz said in a low voice, barely audible above the celebration outside. “I wish I had gotten to talk to her… one more time.”

“So do I,” Poe finally forced himself to look at Leia’s bed. It was far too small and barren for his liking. 

Kaz swallowed hard like he was trying to keep all of his emotions in check. Quietly, he added, “I wanted to talk to her… about Hosninan-” he choked on the words.

Poe snapped his head to look at Kaz. Of course! How could Poe have been so callous? Kaz has lost his entire home world to the First Order when they destroyed Hosninan Prime. Billions of people died in an instant. Kaz probably went through the unimaginable that day. The only other person in the entire galaxy who could even remotely understand that feeling was… had been Leia...

“Hey,” Poe rubbed the kid’s back. “Have you talked to anyone about that?”

Kaz quickly shook his head, starting to lose his composure. He wrapped his arms tight around himself as his chin trembled. He tried to force his trademark smile, but it was gone in and instant. He looked far older than his young years.

Poe leaned in, “No one at all?”

“Yeager,” Kaz’s voice cracked. “Captain Doza a little. Doza said Alderaan was part of the reason why he and Griff left the Empire. Torra tried to talk to me but…” His words trailed off.

“It’s okay if you weren’t ready,” Poe moved his hand up to Kaz’s shoulder and squeezed it. “I… No one… There really are no words for anything like that. And you look like you’ve bottled this up for a while. No one can know what that would feel like-”

“She knew!” Kaz yanked away from him. The tears were flowing freely now. “Leia was the only person who would have known how I feel, and she’s gone! I don’t-! I don’t know what to do anymore! I tried talking to my dad, but he shut me down completely. He told me to suck it up and stop whining about it! Why would he say that? Why isn’t he mad like I am? We don’t have a home world! My friends! My school. The house I grew up in. My mother’s garden where she would yell at me when I played in her flowers... My life there was obliterated, Poe! They’re stardust and the one person in the entire galaxy who could even begin to understand what I’ve felt in the last year is… is…”

And Kaz screamed. A year’s worth of holding in pain and confusion, guilt and suffering, and the inability to force a goofy smile erupted in that moment. A kid far too young to be hardened in this way by a galaxy of cruelty. Poe knew that feeling.

He used to be that kid too. Only then, he had Leia to help him through it.

Poe yanked Kaz in his arms and held him so tight. Sobs and softer yells from Kaz were muffled in Poe’s flight suit as he clung to Poe like he was the last person in the universe. 

And before he knew it, Poe realized the tears on his face too. The war was over. They won, but so much had been lost. Even in victory, there was uncertainty. Poe didn’t have the answers about what they would do next. He didn’t know what the galaxy would become. 

But he did know that in this single moment, he was what Kaz needed most. And if he had to stand there all night while this kid cried in his arms, then that’s exactly what Poe Dameron would do.


End file.
